'No plans' to shore up car industry: PM

Prime Minister John Howard says the Government has no plans to increase its assistance to the nation's car industry.

A leaked submission from the Prime Minister's Department has signalled that the four main car makers want more taxpayer assistance.

The submission also raised the prospect of high labour costs and union militancy pushing vehicle investment offshore.

Mr Howard has told Southern Cross Radio the car industry already gets a great deal of assistance.

"I think there has to come a point where you can't just go on giving more and more," he said.

"One of the interesting things out of the car industry dilemma is that they're worried about a change in industrial relations, they're concerned about a return to pattern bargaining."

Federal Labor leader Kevin Rudd says the Government has done little to ensure the continued growth of the car manufacturing industry over the past 11 years.

Mr Rudd says Labor has proven it is thinking about the car industry's future, but has not seen the same effort from the Coalition.

"Here we are, two weeks before an election and for the last six months or so I've had out there a $500 million green car innovation fund specifically designed to assist the motor vehicle manufacturing industry in this country," he said.

"I don't see any parallel form of assistance coming from the Howard Government and they've been around for 11 years now."